The Lives of the Gods
by the persuit of shiney things
Summary: A companion to 'the Luck of the Gods,' my other MaLoki fic. A little place for me to submit various drabbles and oneshots and such concerning the plot and characters in the other fic. Please read the other fic before this one.
1. How the War Began

((Those of you (possibly most of you) have probably read the fic this is a companion to, the Luck of the Gods

((Most of you have probably read the fic this is a companion to, the Luck of the Gods. That one should be read first, as it contains the actual storyline and few characters will pop here that don't/won't have an important impact on that story.

The first one-shot concerns a character that I'm sure will be quite popular, one that has already been proven popular, and one I'm less than sure about. They are Vali (son of Loki and Siguna), Thrud (Nariko in the modern era, daughter of Thor/Narugami and his wife Sif), and Hnossa (daughter of Freya and her AWOL husband Od). Please, read on and enjoy this little flashback…))

It was a typical day in the world of the gods. Asgard's weather was always that of spring, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping. From inside the great palace one might discern the usual cheerful noise made by the gods and goddesses, and outside in the gardens and fields, the happy chatter of the younger ones rang through the air. It was very idyllic and peaceful, like a small taste of heaven.

He hated it all at the moment.

He was lounging about on a tree branch in one of the gardens commonly frequented by the younger female goddesses, a small group of whom weren't all that far away. He examined them carefully, occasionally catching one of their gazes and eliciting some giggles. He was, after all, Vali, the son of Loki.

Although he didn't know it, one day his half-brother the Midgard serpent would gain a human form. That form would was actually quite similar to Vali's own. The main differences were that Vali was younger, only about fifteen, that he wore a different, more stylish type of glasses, and that his hair was far longer and pure black. Also, there was something…harder about Vali, something less gentle, and flashier. Perhaps it was the fact that he was, in fact, more handsome than his brother was to be, and also far more self-centered and more outgoing.

So why would this boy, having good looks, a happy home, and the pedigree of being a god, be so sour of mood? Because he was an attention hungry creature, and there was one girl in that group of young goddesses who was decidedly not meeting his eyes.

That one goddess was a vivacious red-head who stood in a way so that she faced his direction, but she was very pointedly looking at her other friends (minor goddesses and a daughter of a Valkyrie warrior maiden, no one Vali really thought was utterly important despite the fact that they were all nice and quite pretty). No matter how often the other girls glanced up flirtatiously in his direction or tossed him a coy glance, the lovely little red-head refused to acknowledge Vali's presence.

_Dammit, Thrud, look up here!_ Vali screamed in his mind. Out of all the young ladies in Asgard, only Thrud, Thor's favorite child, took it upon herself to blatantly and annoyingly ignore him, which of course meant he noticed _her_ quite a lot. Vali was a bit on the arrogant side, and it tormented his ego to no end that he couldn't seem to attract the attention of the daughter of Thor. Worse, he found her very attractive (perhaps her obvious unavailability helped that), and would have leapt at the chance to flirt with her had he reason to believe she would possibly accept his affections.

So here he was sitting in a tree, which was just fine by him, waiting for this one contrary young lady to spare him a glance, which was less than fine by him.

Eventually, though, he got his wish: Thrud finally looked up a little and met his eyes. His face instantly broke out into one of his more handsome, flirtatious smiles and nodded at her. If he had done that to most any other young goddess in Asgard, he would have made their day. At the very least, they'd smile back and blush.

But not Thrud. Her expression didn't change at all as she examined him for a moment, and then, to his shock and displeasure, she turned back to her friends without even nodding at him. He had been utterly ignored! Rejected! Shunned! Snubbed! Denied! He practically fell out of the tree; he was so surprised and angered. How dare she!?

Scowling, Vali looked up at the clouds as if hoping something large would fall from it and crush either him or her, whichever ended his misery faster. Upon a lack of objects careening down on anyone's head, he sighed and shrugged to no one. He should've known that rejection was coming, it always did.

Deciding that enough was enough, Vali adjusted himself so he was sitting astride on the branch as he looked for the best path down out of the tree. A second after he changed position, he heard one of the girls giggle wildly and ask "Is it wrong to be jealous of a tree?" which, despite his bad mood, drew a small smirk onto his face.

"Yes. Yes, it's very wrong," Thrud drawled in response. "Especially since the reason _why_ you're jealous is someone like Vali." **That** wiped the smile right off his pretty face. If the girls hadn't all been so distracted by being shocked at Thrud's commentary, they might have seen he actually looked a little hurt as he clambered down and walked away.

"Someone like me, huh?" Vali muttered as he wandered about for a while afterwards. "Well, I suppose that just about sums up Thrud's opinion of me doesn't it? I wish she'd been a little gentler about it, though. Or at least that she wouldn't ignore me…"

"You're talking to yourself, you know," said a light, sweet-sounding voice behind him, bringing him back to reality. He turned to face the speaker, another of Thrud's good friends who also happened to be on good terms with Vali as well.

She was Hnossa, the daughter of Od and Freya, although the latter was the one whom the girl seemed to take on after the most. Blonde, blue-violet eyed, and downright gorgeous, she was like a younger, sweeter version of her mother. She was as lovely as any gem, hence the significance of having a name that meant "jewel." She was also beyond innocent and friendly, and her smile could melt the hardest heart.

Sure enough, seeing the smiling face of Hnossa did, in fact, improve Vali's mood a bit. Being the charmer that he was, he reflexively took her hand and kissed in as greetings. "Hnossa, you're as radiant as ever."

"And you're being a humongous flirt, like always!" Hnossa retorted, laughing. Hnossa, being among Vali's best friends, was one of the few girls who could resist his ability to enchant them. It also might have had something to do with the fact that boys in Asgard were always like that with her.

"You don't seem to be in the best mood," Hnossa commented, and Vali's mood went back to the abysmal place it had been before. "Want to talk about it?"

"Maybe," Vali mumbled. Hnossa was his and Thrud's mutual friend, and although he enjoyed her company, he knew she was a bit on the airheaded side and there was a chance if he let her know too much, she might slip and tell Thrud. So, he explained Thrud's comment and his disappointment with it to Hnossa without actually voicing exactly what made it upset him so.

Hnossa shrugged. "I doubt she really meant to hurt you. She was probably just a bit annoyed that all the other girls were getting distracted because you were around. Plus, you know she doesn't like Loki because of that prophecy. I'm pretty sure she doesn't like you either just because of that."

Vali considered these reasons. It was true that all the girls with Thrud had at least once paused the conversation to look at him: that must be quite annoying. He would get disgruntled too. Okay, he could forgive her for that.

Plus, Thrud did have that natural animosity ever since the news came about that a prophecy had dictated such and such about the end of the world, including that Loki and, most likely, his children were to play key roles. Vali assumed that it meant Loki's demon children, his half siblings, not himself and his little brother Narvi (like Narvi could hurt anyone, anyway). Still, there had been few details given so as to prevent giving "those concerned" ideas, so there was a chance Vali played some part.

"Okay, so she has the right not to like me," Vali conceded, "but that doesn't give her the right to ignore me!"

Hnossa thought for a second. "No, I guess it doesn't," she agreed. Vali withheld his annoyance. Hnossa tended to take a second to completely gather the obvious, and to state it once she did. After that would typically come the stuff that Vali wanted to hear, the more profound and/or intelligent commentary.

Sure enough, a moment later Hnossa suggested "Try a different technique."

"Excuse me?" Vali was a bit confused. What did she mean technique?

"Well, you've been trying to get her to notice you the exact same way you get all the girls to. Maybe if you took a different approach, she'd pay more attention."

Vali considered that. She had a point: since he constantly craved attention, particularly female attention, he had found out what made the girls and himself happiest and stuck with that. He had never thought about the idea that a particular girl, i.e. Thrud, might need something entirely different to react like he wanted her to. But what could that possibly be?

What did he know she liked? Well, food, for one thing, he had to admit it. And her father, of course. But neither of those would get him anywhere. Hmm…she liked a challenge. She liked to fight, and to have something to do. She liked excitement. And, as anyone who had seen Thrud arguing with her supposedly stronger elder brothers, she DIDN'T like being considered weak.

Which got Vali thinking of things that made Thrud _un_happy rather than the opposite. She hated being insulted, or hearing her father insulted either. She couldn't stand it when someone pushed themselves father than her: one of the few things that got a decent reaction out of her was the glare he'd received upon once outrunning her, being very swift of foot. She hated being called weak most of all, and was insanely jealous of her elder brothers, Magni and Modi, for they were to inherit their father's great Mjollnir. She loathed being confused, despite the fact that that happened quite often.

Hmm…

He couldn't think of too many ways to impress her, it was that simple. On the other hand, he could think of quite a few ways to upset her even more than she upset him. Not only that…but Vali had a rather twisted sense of humor, and had to admit this current plan forming in his head was striking him as absolutely hilarious!

As he was thinking, Hnossa watched his expressions change. First he was surprised, then he was calculating, then he was silently frustrated, and then he took a look of rather bad-willed amusement that slowly developed into a dark, mischievous grin that Hnossa knew couldn't bode well. "Er, Vali, what are you thinking?"

"Oh, nothing in particular," he blatantly lied, still grinning. "I just had a little epiphany is all."

"An epiphany…?" Hnossa repeated slowly, not liking the way Vali said it. He wasn't the son of the god of chaos for nothing, after all.

"Yup," Vali confirmed, and suddenly he ran past Hnossa. "I gotta go do something, see ya!" he called back to her as he went to the last place he'd seen Thrud, leaving Hnossa baffled and quite sure she'd somehow made everyone's lives a lot less peaceful.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Thrud, do you think I should tell Vali I like him?" one of her friend inquired of her. The others had wandered off after Thrud had made her comment about Vali, and now only Bertana, the young Valkyrie-to-be, was left, still struggling to comprehend that Thrud could not see the object of her affections as the most amazing thing in Asgard.

The fact was, Thrud didn't like Vali because he confused her. He would offer her a brilliant smile or a wink like she was the only thing in the world that matter after having very obviously flirted with another girl seconds before, and immediately after he'd be at it with another. Plus, if anyone else had made some of the comments Vali had made in the past, she'd've thought them stupid, but when Vali said something outrageous she found it funny, as he intended. She thought about him for no reason sometimes, and even got mad when he flirted with others for no good reason.

"You should if you want to, I guess," Thrud answered her friend's question with a shrug. That just got Bertana going on and on about this and that concerning Vali's possible reactions, and Thrud honestly stopped listening.

"Hey, Thunder Girl!" called out a voice behind them. Surprised, Thrud and Bertana turned to see Vali only a few meters away, grinning like he was up to something.

"Thunder Girl?" Thrud repeated, knowing he had to be talking to her. "What kind of stupid nickname is that?"

"Oh, it's stupid, eh?" Vali asked playfully. "Well, then I suppose it rather suits you, doesn't it?"

Thrud blinked, and then felt her blood begin to boil. "What was that?" she hissed.

Vali chuckled, turning away a little bit. "You heard me." He glanced at her companion. "Bertana, you heard me, I assume? Would you be so kind as to tell your deaf friend over there what I said to her?"

Bertana stared at Vali in utter shock. Vali put on an expression of sympathy. "Oh, dear, the girl's gone dumb! Looks like you're contagious, Thunder Girl."

"Say one more nasty comment, Vali," Thrud snarled, getting seriously pissed, "and I will rip you limb from limb!"

Vali acted like he was stunned, but too dramatically to be thought to really be stunned. "What's wrong, Thrud, can't take what was coming to you?" His face finally took a serious expression; he looked very annoyed, but somehow satisfied and mildly triumphant. "You've ignored me and rejected my attention long enough. Now you're going to notice me whether you want to or not. And besides…" Vali smirked, looking quite content. "…this is such fun! For me, anyway."

Thrud gazed at him for a second, taking in what he had said. _Rejected?_ _What does he mean by that!? And what does he mean, what was coming to me!?_ "Vali, you're nuts."

Vali laughed cruelly. "Very creative, Thrud, I'm impressed!" he sarcastically praised, clapping his hands. Thrud felt the veins in her forehead throbbing. "I'm nuts, am I? Well, I have fun this way, so I suppose I'm better off."

"Quit confusing me!" Thrud shouted, enraged.

"Aw, am I confuzzling poor widdle Thrud?" Vali acted as though he was about to cry, and his voice reeked with fake guilt and a baby-talk tone. "Dat's so vewy, vewy sad! I'm a bad pewson, oh, yes I is! Oh, woe is me!"

"I'm serious, Vali…" Thrud told him through clenched teeth.

"So am I," Vali insisted. He pointed at one of his eyes. "Look, I think I'm even shedding a tear or two!"

"Vali, if you don't shut up this second, I swear I'll-"

"Get your dad to settle this like the little daddy's girl you are?" Vali suggested, smirking again.

That did it. Thrud shouted and lunged.

Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Not all too far away, Loki happened to have been walking through the gardens himself, having grown bored with dealing with the other "major" gods and goddesses and hoping for a change of pace. As he walked, he had come across Hnossa, standing in shock. When he inquired as to whether or not she was alright, she'd begun to babble something about Vali and Thrud and attention and bad ideas.

He let her vent for a few minutes before raising his hands in front of him in the universal "hold it" sign and telling her "Hnossa, slow down there, I can barely understand a word you're saying. What's this about Vali and Thrud? And don't forget to breathe sometime soon or you'll pass out."

Hnossa nodded, taking a second to gasp for air: she'd been talking so rapidly she'd forgotten to inhale. "Vali…he was mad at Thrud…"

"Because she ignores him?" Loki asked, figuring this was the case. Vali had come to him to complain about it once or twice too. Loki's advice had been to just lay off and see what happened or to realize he might be better off without dealing with Thor's temperamental daughter. Vali had not liked that advice too much.

Hnossa nodded. "Yeah…and today, she said something a little mean and upset him…so, when he asked me for help, I told him, try something different from how you get the other girls' attention…"

"And the bad part about that is…?" Loki prompted, thinking that was actually decent advice to give and not seeing what was wrong with this situation.

"Well…Vali thought about it for a little while…and then he got a really evil grin on his face and ran off."

"Did he say anything about this 'evil grin' of his?"

"He said he'd had an epiphany."

Loki considered this. "Well, I'm sure Vali can't be planning anything too bad…"

The second the words had left his mouth, he heard the sound of rapid, running footsteps approaching and two young voices shouting at each other. It took Loki a second to recognize his son's voice and that of the girl who so interested him. He glanced in the direction they came from, suddenly doubting his own words just a moment before.

Sure enough, Vali came rushing around a corner top speed, barely dodging a rock that was thrown at him. Laughing, he called out "You couldn't hit water if you fell out of a boat!" at Thrud, who was in hot pursuit.

"I'll make you pay for that!" she shrieked, grabbing for Vali's long hair but missing.

"You'll have to catch me first, you slowpoke!" Vali retorted confidently, racing past his stunned father and friend without even seeing them.

Thrud was equally blind to their presence as she chased her tormentor. "Drop dead, Vali!"

"After you, Thunder Girl!" Vali replied, and they both ran around another corner and were lost from view.

Loki stared after them for a second in pure shock. "What in all nine worlds was that!?" he finally exclaimed. Then a look of sudden comprehension graced his face and he gave Hnossa a sidelong glance. "That was the result of Vali liking your advice a little too much," he answered his own question.

"I'm sorry…" Hnossa told the god of mischief, looking near tears that her interference in this had turned out so horribly.

"Don't worry, it's not like you meant for that to happen," Loki assured her, not wanting to deal with a crying girl in addition to the mess she'd inadvertently caused. "I'm sure Vali will grow bored with it quite soon…"

"And if he doesn't?" Hnossa couldn't help but ask.

Loki thought for a second, then shrugged and truthfully told her "Than I think you may have created a monster ten times scarier than Fenrir ever was."

(And so ends the first installment of the Lives of the Gods: an explanation as to why Vali started tormenting Thrud/Nariko all the time, as has been mentioned in the Luck of the Gods a couple times.

What did you think of the way I characterized Vali? I totally adore him. He started as a younger version of Loki with Yamino's looks, but I developed him a lot and made him, among other things, a totally hot jerk, a well-meaning prankster, and the most loveable bastard you will ever meet besides his father. Hee. He's fun to write.

Review, please, it makes me happy. Next planned installment of this (to be posted about when I feel like writing the dumb thing) will concern Loki's childhood in Jotunheim, back when he lived with his mother and before he became a god. Until then, enjoy this and whatever stuff I post in the Luck of the Gods in the meantime! Laterz!)


	2. Future

Livesofthegods2

((I apologize again for the lack of update to the _actual_ story, seeing as I can't think of what should happen in chapter 19. I really hope this'll suffice!

I came up with this when I realized two things. First, I realized that Kori appeared quite literally in every chapter up to Chapter Ten: Loki's Fear, and since then has appeared only once more (in Chapter Thirteen: An Unfortunate Triumph). So, I wanted to put her in again.

Ah, but there are characters who have appeared even more rarely. In fact, a certain group of three hasn't appeared once. Yup, I realized that the Norns have apparently dropped off the face of the Earth. However, I don't want to just leave it at that. So…they show up here!

Be forewarned, this whole shmeal is entirely pointless, the most you _might_ get out of it is some mild foreshadowing. I hope you like.

Oh, and yes I'm doing review shout-outs for this too.

Seven Midnights: Hee, I'm glad you like the Vali-ness so much. I like him too, even if he is a total jerk. I hope you enjoy this chapter of the Lives of the Gods, too.

Alright, to the pointless blurb I'm going to spew onto the interwebs.))

Life on Midgard was actually a bit more boring than Skuld had expected, she had to admit it. Today was her day to run the tent, telling fortunes with her powers. Urd and Verdandi were out doing their own things, leaving her to man the fort. And it was very…very…very boring.

The Norns had, as it was, lost a good deal of their power when Loki had denied the chance to go back to Asgard. Verdandi's theory was that if he had, Ragnarok would have occurred then and there, but since he didn't, it didn't. Loki had denied his fate, and as such, "fate" itself was changing. The Norns had lost all control.

At the very least, they could still see into the near future, anyway. This was how the three were making money. It was amazing how happy mortals were to hear vague tidbits of advice and snippets of their future. Or maybe, Skuld thought to herself as she waited for her next customer, she just thought it was amazing since she was used to seeing those bits of destiny all the time.

Skuld had been leaning on the table, her head propped up on her hand. She heard the shuffling of the curtain and quickly sat up straight, trying to look professional. A young woman entered (women were, for whatever reason, more prone to seek mystical advice than men), glancing around curiously before fully coming into the room.

Sometimes you could tell things about a person just by looking at them, and when you could say something about a person that they didn't tell you, it tended to impress them. This girl, Skuld noted, was in her early twenties, her hair in a messy bun that implied she'd been too rushed that morning to style it properly. That was also implied by the slightly sloppy stated of her clothes; her jeans and sneakers were old, and her t-shirt was too big and had the faded marks of some old stains. Still, her face was energetic and her smile was bright, so she probably lived a happy enough life. And she carried a rather large purse, meaning she liked to be prepared.

Skuld took this all in as she motioned for the girl to sit in a chair across from her seat at the round table with the crystal ball at the center. The customer obliged, then gave her name without having to be asked. "Hello, I'm Megumi Hanabusa. I've heard that you guys at Midnight Sun Fortunetelling were very good?"

"Better than 'good,' I think," Skuld replied, smiling.

Megumi shrugged. "I don't usually do this stuff. I was just passing by with my sisters and thought this might be fun. The two of them will be in here after me."

"Alright, but let's just focus on you right now," Skuld suggested, raising her hands above the crystal ball. Not only did this look a little cooler, but it also helped her focus her remaining powers into the glass to view it there. She didn't have to use glass to see the future, of course, but hey, what better way was there to appear to be "gazing into the crystal ball" other than actually doing so? And it looked pretty neat too, seeing things dancing on the glass…

"Those two aren't your only siblings, are they?" Skuld inquired as things came clearer. "There's more. And they drive you crazy, but you love them anyway…in fact, you take care of them. You're parents are…"

Megumi blinked. "Oh, you're right, there's another sister and two brothers, and I take care of them all. And yes, my mother and father are out of the picture." Megumi got a rather quirky smile on her face as she commented "You know the present, at least. But you might be able to tell some of that just by looking at me."

_Oh-ho, she's a real non-believer, isn't she? _Skuld thought. _Let's see if there's something in here that can change her tune…aha!_ "You had a strange encounter not too long ago," commented the Norn. "Or rather, some of your siblings had a strange encounter. No one was hurt, but it scared you very badly, didn't it?"

Now Megumi looked a little more impressed, but she wasn't quite buying it yet. "Those are some kinda vague terms…"

"This incident prompted you to get outside help," Skuld continued. "The source was a good one, although some would disagree. Still, he settled everything down very nicely. He was…a little detective."

_That_ got more of the reaction Skuld wanted: Megumi's eyes widened a bit and her mouth dropped open momentarily. Still, she regained composure quickly. "Er, yes…"

Skuld grinned a little as the crystal ball revealed a bit more of this particular subject, just enough for her to be able to tell exactly who this detective was…and most anything relating to Loki made Skuld's day that much better! But she had a customer to deal with. "You don't think you repaid him well enough, but he's perfectly content, so you can be at ease. He doesn't feel he had to do all that much, anyway."

"Oh." Megumi frowned a bit and looked at her lap. She had expected something less…real than what she was receiving.

"Now to get into the future…" Skuld said, looking further into the vision. The first thing she saw was…chaos. Oh, dear, it looked like this girl, and most likely her family, was getting roped into the mayhem caused by the gods' presence on Earth.

"Odd things are going to start happening, or at least things odder than you're used to," Skuld told her, knowing better than to be more specific with her warning. "I suggest staying in contact with that detective. Oh? What's this…?" Skuld raised an eyebrow, than smirked a little. "I see that you have a favorable encounter in your future. The result of this will be that you not only make a very close friend, but you'll finally get past one of your more embarrassing faults."

Megumi cocked her head as she considered this. "I don't suppose you could be more specific?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant but obviously very intrigued.

"You've already met this person. He's made a good impression and you like him well enough, but he's made a much…stronger impression on someone else you're close to…I see the color…green."

Megumi's eyes filled with insight. "Oh, it must be Yamino. I'll remember that…anything else?"

Skuld looked into the glace a moment longer before offering a parting tidbit of advice: "Don't be too quick to dismiss things that seem impossible."

Megumi nodded and stood. "I'm done now; I suppose…I'll send in Midori now. Oh, and just to warn you, she's rather…well, insane."

"I can handle it," Skuld assured her, waving her out. Megumi bowed a little at the waist before exiting. Skuld felt pleased with herself, having managed to get at someone who seemed to have felt when she came in that this wasn't the real deal.

Then a little green girl of about fifteen years came bouncing in, as bouncy as a superball, and Skuld went from content to frazzled quite quickly. "Ooo, lookit this place, it's so cool! It's kinda creepy, but it's good creepy, and a fortuneteller's place should be creepy, right? Right! I like it! Oh, that crystal ball is so shiny, I wanna touch it! But I probably shouldn't, so I won't! Midori is a good girl, yes she is! Oh, hello! Are you the fortuneteller?" All of this the girl said in one continuous barrage while rushing around the space inside the tent, and when she was done she collapsed in the chair and took a deep breath, because she'd been speaking to fast to remember to breathe, apparently.

"Um, yes I am," Skuld answered the last question. "It's nice to meet you…so! Onto the fortunetelling, then?"

Midori sat up straight, grinning. She nodded vigorously, sending her amazingly dyed curls bouncing everywhere. "Yeahyeahyeahyeah! I want to know my future! There's one thing I really wanna know! I bet you can tell what it is, though right!?"

"Give me a second," Skuld instructed, again raising her hands above the glass orb. She instantly saw what Midori wanted.

"There's someone you really like. You want to know what he feels for you?" Midori didn't have to respond aloud, her leaning out practically onto the table was a huge sign that Skuld had hit the nail on the head. She looked into the future a bit…

"Well, he doesn't know you very well, you know," Skuld informed Midori. "And you act so hyper and passionate around him that he feels rather…confused about you. If you want him to return your feelings, you're going to have to be calmer around him, and get to know him better. You also have to sort out your feelings for him."

Midori cocked her head one way, and then the other, thinking about this. Then she shrugged. "Can you see anything else, huh, can ya? Can ya? Can ya!?"

"Of course I can, calm down!" Skuld scolded, and Midori promptly shut up, although she was obviously eager to hear more. The goddess rolled her eyes before looking at the clear globe again to see some more. "I see that your life's going to have some dramatic changes before too long, so be prepared. Also…" Skuld blinked. "Avoid flying pigs…?"

"Oh! That's Phantom Thief Frey and his flying pig! I've seen it, but no one believes me. Oh well!" Midori smiled happily. Skuld, meanwhile, was mentally chastising herself for not remembering that Frey and Gullinbursti were around.

"Um, I'm afraid your future is proving rather hard o predict," Skuld admitted. This girl was certainly an oddity: it took quite a lot to mess with a goddess of fate's ability to tell the future!

Midori, however, wasn't even paying attention. She was…hugging an orca plushie? Where did that come from…? When she saw Skuld staring, Midori proudly held forth her toy and announced "It ish mah Goth Whale!" And then she cuddled it a bit, apparently content.

"Um, that's very nice…" Skuld said, feeling rather awkward. "Er, you can send in your last sister, now."

"Okiees!" Midori said happily, getting up and walking out, still holding her whale close to her. Skuld stared after her. What a freak… "I hope the last one is sane, at least…" she mumbled.

The second she whispered that, she got a premonition that something she wouldn't like was about to happened. The girl who was about to enter was not, she was suddenly sure, was not crazy like Midori…but Skuld would not like her…or didn't like her…what?

Then the girl came in. Despite her small height, youthful face, and generally much littler form, Skuld recognized her instantly. She tensed up as the child, not really noticing Skuld yet, wandered n and sat on the chair. "Hello, my name is Kori and I…I…" Now she noticed, and she stared at the Norn for a good minute or so before finishing her statement "I cannot believe this!"

"Siguna," Skuld said weakly, meeting the goddess of loyalty's glare with her own stunned gaze. "This can't be happening…why didn't I see you get here?"

"Because I came here before you did?" Kori-Siguna suggested. "Because you don't pay attention? Because you didn't want to think about me? Because you high-and-mighty Norns aren't nearly as powerful as you think?"

"You be quiet!" Skuld shouted. Of all the people to possibly come to this tent, it had to be Loki's wife! "How long have you been here!?"

"Almost as long as Loki. I sent myself here so I couldn't be used against him by Odin," Kori-Siguna explained, scowling. Back when Loki first became Odin's blood brother in ages past, when Loki had still been choosing a bride (for he wouldn't officially be a god until he married one of their own), there had been a point where Loki had seemed to seriously be considering none other than the youngest Norn. In the end, of course, he had selected Siguna, but that didn't stop her from being particularly wary of this girl, more so than other women who liked Loki.

Skuld shook her head. "Wonderful…" she mumbled. "Absolutely wonderful." She threw up her hands in defeat. "Whatever. As long as you're here, want me to give you a little fortunetelling?"

Kori-Siguna thought for a second. "Well, I suppose since your stuffs infallible anyway…I might as well." Kori grinned rather maliciously. "You can see the present, too. Tell me, who does Loki like more, you or me?"

"You stop that!" Skuld snarled, which only seemed to make Kori's smirk more mischievous and self-assured. Skuld rolled her eyes. "Jeez…alright, hold on a sec, it's been taking a bit longer to do since Loki messed with fate, not coming to the world of the gods again, whatever his reason…"

Not noticing Kori's slightly pained look at the thought that Loki's loyalty to Mayura might have been strong enough to defy destiny, Skuld looked into the crystal ball again. The first thing that came up was a swift warning. "Apparently there're some new arrivals in Loki's life, one who's already here and a couple who are on the way. I see some enmity towards you is on the way as well, and not just from me, so you'd better be on your guard."

"Well, isn't that just peachy?" Kori-Siguna moaned miserably. "I don't suppose there's anything _good _in that dumb glass ball you've taken to using?"

Skuld, despite herself, felt a little sympathetic for Kori-Siguna. After all, she had endured so much for Loki, only to lose him to banishment, and upon finding him again she had also obviously discovered some new obstacles as well. So Skuld genuinely looked for something fortunate to relay to her customer.

She eventually found one. "This thing I see is too distant to clearly tell what it is…but whatever it is, it's a very good thing coming. It won't be for a while mind you…but it looks like it'll make up for a lot of the bad things to come. I can only make out one detail…I see that it will make Loki very happy as well. It's something that connects you…" Skuld rolled her eyes. "Which is just wonderful for me."

"Thank you," Kori said quietly. She was furiously trying to figure out what this source of immense joy that would eventually come to her and Loki could possibly be, but nothing came to mind.

"Well, ask and you shall receive," Skuld said with a shrug. "I hoped for an end to my boredom, and it looks like I got it…And knowing something good's on the way will be bugging you for quite a while."

Kori gave her own shrug in response. "Whatever. Anything else I should know before I head out?"

"I saw lots of chaos in the futures of all of you…it looks like the situation going on here with all of us is continuing to spiral out of control, and you are all involved in it now. Watch out for them. There's something really odd going to happen to the green kid, Midori, but that's even farther ahead than what's going to happen to make you happy, and I can't see that anymore, so…"

"I'll take care of them, just like they've been taking care of me since I came here. Thank you." And with that, Kori gave Skuld her payment for the fortunes, and left the tent. Skuld certainly wasn't going to be bored for a while, not with all these new things to think about…

((…This chapter sucks SO much ass. Damn you, writer's block! DAMN YOU! You're more annoying than yaoi!

Anyway, as you can see, all you get out of this is some random foreshadowing and a little facetime for some characters who haven't shown for a while. Oh, and Midori's goth whale. That was totally stolen from a series of comics I found on DeviantArt called "Maria McMorbid" by Rimfrost. Search it: it's funny!

Anyway, review this piece of garbage, and please, please give me suggestions! One reviewer suggested bringing in Hel somehow, but I'm afraid that won't work with the way my story's going to go. If I don't think of anything by next Sunday, I'll post another chapter here, one concerning Nariko back when she was Thrud.

If I still can't get into the groove of things by the Sunday after that, there'll be another chapter here, and I'll write a chapter with another new character for the main story. I'll do that if I have to, but with the recent influx of new characters I had I wanna tone that down a bit, so...yeah.

Sorry about letting writer's block eat me, I'll try to do better, and keep reading!))


	3. Defying Gravity

((Yeah, more filler stuff for you to make up (at least in part) for the lack of update in the real story

((Yeah, more filler stuff for you to make up (at least in part) for the lack of update in the real story. I hope writer's block doesn't decide to torment me too much longer. I mean, not only do I want to get on with the actual story, but I don't like having to use the Lives of the Gods as a sort of bunker. This little drabble section was meant for fun, not for random filler.

Anyway, this little piece of babble concerns Thrud (a.k.a. Nariko) and Hnossa, Freya's daughter who was introduced in the first chapter of the Lives of the Gods, and some stuff about Hnossa's father Od. While I've been hoping to avoid developing characters too much before they appear (wink wink nudge nudge), I needed to write something for you guys…

And it just so happens that I recently discovered the musical Wicked through a Youtube AMV and I am currently enthralled by it. The other day I was listening to 'Defying Gravity' while "doing homework" (read: slacking off like the lazy bum I am) and I felt a much appreciated spark of inspiration. Not a huge one, mind you, but enough for me to think of a pretty decent, if not pointless, subject for this chappie.

Anyway, onto the review shout outs…

tgeorges: Thanks for the kind words. It's nice to know people like my writing, since I love to do it so much. (Imagines kicking a giant cube labeled "writer's block," which then explodes) Hah. I WISH I could give this stupid writer's block the boot…

And let's get this over with…))

Immortality in an idyllic paradise all their own was something the gods took for granted just as much as mortals do with their fleeting time. But then again, like life in general, it wasn't always all it was cracked up to be. If there was one thing that the gods had deal with day after day…it would have to be boredom. After all, thousands of years of lazy summer days without even aging to temper it got a little tiresome eventually.

There were ways to deal with this, of course. Friendly fights between one another, excursions into Jotunheim, randomly held parties, all were common ways to try and keep each day from being an exact repetition of the last. Still, for some, this was not enough to stay entertained.

One of those who still needed more was Od, the god of travelers. From the start, Asgard's timeless peace and life had been _far_ too boring for Od's taste. As soon as he was old enough, he'd taken it upon himself to go on unannounced journeys for various periods of time. Odin had temporarily curbed this by having Od marry Freya upon her becoming a goddess, and when Hnossa was born Od stayed in Asgard for probably the longest length of time in his life.

Still, once Hnossa was mature, old enough to be dubbed a goddess and allowed to eat Idunn's apples of youth, Od began wandering again. The trips took a few days each, then a few weeks, then a few months, and got more and more frequent. Eventually, he left and simply never came back, leaving Freya mourning and Hnossa rather confused as to his motivation for leaving the world of the gods.

After a while, though, Hnossa began to feel the same dullness and utter monotony that had driven her father from Asgard. She had started to sense it once dear Vali and his father Loki, the loveable troublemakers they were, faced their punishment: as soon as the despair she'd felt had faded, she realized that life in this place was really incredibly boring. And eventually, she got sick of it.

Thrud, being Hnossa's best friend, noticed when the daughter of Freya and Od started acting differently. Hnossa paid more attention when Jotunheim was discussed, would be seen staring out at the walls of Asgard for no good reason, and Thrud caught her more than once sneaking food after dinner, as though to save it for something. But what was the method to this madness?

One day, Thrud found out.

That day was pretty much like any other day in Asgard when it started, save for it being the monthly occasion when Idunn would give out her apples to the many deities she served. Thrud, after getting hers at noon with the rest, had caught sight of Hnossa. Rather than eat the fruit and instantly renew any youth she was losing, the blonde was just standing off to the side, looking at the apple contemplatively. For Hnossa to have such a thoughtful look on her face was almost as rare as her missing the opportunity to socialize, so Thrud was naturally rather concerned.

"Hey, what's been up with you lately?" Thrud asked, walking over to her companion. Hnossa glanced up at her, looking a bit confused. "You know what I mean, I'm talking about how you've been all out of it and depressed and anti-social lately. Is something wrong?"

"Yes. No. Maybe. Everything. Nothing. Something. I don't know…" Hnossa babbled a little before sighing, shaking her head, and shrugging at Thrud, quite clearly not in the mood to really talk.

Thrud wouldn't let it go at that, though. "Seriously, some of us are starting to get worried about you, gem," she told Hnossa, using the girl's nickname based on the fact that her name meant "jewel."

Hnossa glanced over Thrud's shoulder to make sure no one was paying attention to them (no one was), then took Thrud by the hand and led her away. She took the thunder deity to the nearest of the walls about the gods' home and, to Thrud's astonishment, brought her through a small gate in the barrier Thrud had neither known about or would have noticed without assistance. "What's with the sneaky gate?" she asked, most curious. "And how did you find it?"

"My daddy showed me one, while he was still here," Hnossa explained in answer to the second question. "I think he might have made it, even. So he could get out easier. C'mon." And she ushered Thrud through the passage and outside of the palace of the Aesir.

Thrud was almost knocked over by the sudden gust of cold air she felt when she got through the corridor in the wall. She had actually not really been outside the protective barricade in ages, never really experienced the cold of a season other than spring or summer since a time Loki's son Vali had led all the younger deities in a small rebellion against being controlled by having them all go to the human world for a day. That had been so long ago that Thrud had forgotten the harshness of the world outside. Well, now she was remembering quite quickly.

Hnossa did not have the same reaction. She went right by her friend, who was just standing in surprise as though not comprehending the feeling of snow coming up to her ankles. There was a gnarled old tree nearby with a hole in the truck, and Hnossa walked over to it and began grabbing for something in it.

"Hnossa, why are we out here?" Thrud asked, but Hnossa didn't really acknowledge her, being too busy sifting through the hollow trunk of the tree. Thrud glanced around: it was not snowing, but as she had already noted, there was snow all around. Not too far away, the ground fell away to a sheer cliff. Other than this one odd dead tree Hnossa was concerned with, there was no vegetation. Within the walls, the sky had been sunny and pure blue, but out hear a layer of clouds made the heavens look white-gray.

"Got it!" Hnossa exclaimed, and Thrud saw the lovely little goddess she called her friend pull from the hole in the tree a large knapsack, a cloak, and a set of boots. The last thing on the list, however, is what caught Thrud's attention the most, for they sparked with magic. "Are those…Seven-League Boots?" she asked in awe, having never before seen a set of the magical footwear that allowed a person to travel seven leagues with a single step.

"Yes," Hnossa confirmed, smiling a secret smile. "My daddy actually had these made for me in secret. When he left on his last trip, he told me he wasn't coming back, and offered to let me come with him, using these boots to keep up with him. I turned down the offer, but he let me keep the boots."

"And you're hiding them in a tree because…?" Thrud asked suspiciously. Then with a start, she remembered the pack. "You're not planning on pulling an Od, are you!?"

"Nice way to put it!" Hnossa commented, giggling, not denying Thrud's accusation.

"You're not serious!" Thrud announced, shaking her head. "You can't do that!"

"Why not?" Hnossa countered. "I mean, I am the daughter of the god of travelers, after all! I'm sure I have his protection."

"You're having delusions of grandeur!" Thrud told her. "You're thinking this is all cool and amazing and stuff, but it's not! You can't just leave Asgard! Why just leave Asgard!?"

"Because it's boring," Hnossa informed Thrud bluntly. "They seem to think that we should all just accept that the amount of people worshipping us is lessening and we have nothing left to do but accept the fate of eternal…tedium! Their limiting everyone, and I for one am through accepting that limit!"

"You're getting kinda dramatic, gem," commented Thrud, which just earned her a glare.

"But it's true," Hnossa insisted. "I'm not just going to sit back and let myself get trapped in Asgard. Some things I just can't change, but I have to know for sure."

"What about your mother!?" Thrud asked.

"What _about_ my mother?" Hnossa retorted. "She suffocates me, she's trying to mold me into a little her, anyone can see that!"

"But she loves you!"

"And I love her. But if love means having to compromise who I am, than I just plain don't want it."

"So you're just gonna put on that pair of boots your father gave you and walk away from everything!?"

Hnossa shook her head. "No. The boots might come in handy, and they're lucky for me, but I can't walk in them because I wouldn't be able to control where I'd land." Hnossa laid the shoes in the snow and held the cloak out so Thrud could see the intricate design embroidered onto it. "No, _this_ is how I'm getting out of here!"

It took a moment for Thrud to recognize the pattern, and when she did she felt her legs almost give out beneath her. Freya had a special cloak that allowed her to either grow a set of hawk's wings on her back or fully transform into a hawk. All the gods respected Freya's special treasure tool, even Loki, who had felt compelled to borrow it once or twice. And the cloak in Hnossa's hands, although too new to be _the _cloak, had the exact same stitching.

"I've been working on it for ages!" Hnossa said, obviously quite pleased with it. "I mean, I couldn't borrow my mama's cloak, but I did pretty well just working from memory, don't you think? I've tested it in my room, and it worked perfectly! It's an amazing feeling you get when you fly, Thrud, you can barely describe it! It's as if you're defying gravity itself! With this, we'll be miles away from here before sunset!"

"Wait, we?" Thrud repeated, confused by the word.

"Oh! Right!" Hnossa giggled mischievously, folding the cloak in one arm, then opening the knapsack and rifling through it. She then withdrew…another magical flying cloak, another exact copy of Freya's treasure.

"I made _you_ one too!" Hnossa put down her own cloak and the bag, and then went to Thrud. She held the cloak out to her, dropping it. Thrud instinctively reached out and caught it. Once it was in her arms, Hnossa took her by the shoulders and said "Thrud, come with me! Think of how much better my journey will be with you! I'm limited, but together, we can do whatever we want to, whatever we dream! No one will bring us down again! It'll be amazing; it'll just be you and me having the time of our lives!"

By the end of her speech, Hnossa had released Thrud and was whirling around dramatically, ranting about how wonderful it would be to be traveling the nine worlds, just Hnossa and Thrud. The latter of that pair was staring in total shock at the cloak in her arms. If she accepted the offer, she could have utter freedom, have no responsibilities, and have adventures she'd only dreamed of, all with her best friend by her side! It was like a dream come true!

But…

"Well, are you coming?" Hnossa finally asked, turning to face her friend…only to find the young thunder goddess was holding the cloak out for her to take back, her face down. "Oh…"

"I'm sorry, but I can't…I can't just leave. I have a family here, I have a life here…you may not want yours, but I want mine. I…I'm sorry, Hnossa."

"It's alright," Hnossa blatantly lied as she took the cloak from her friend's hands and walked over to the knapsack to repack it along with the boots. "I mean, hey, now I have a spare cloak. And I can understand why you don't wanna come with me, so it's not like I'm mad at you." And for a minute or so, there was silence.

"So…you're leaving now" Thrud asked. "Like right now?"

Hnossa nodded. "I've been waiting for ages. And telling you was going to be the last thing I ever said to any of the gods before going, so…"

"I…I hope you're happy, now that you're doing this," Thrud said to her dearest companion, still feeling it wasn't enough, but certainly not able to just say nothing to her before her departure.

"I hope you are too, staying here," Hnossa replied, turning around a bit to give Thrud a sad kind of smile as she stood and slung the knapsack and cloak onto her back. Without another word, Thrud ran over and hugged her friend, and Hnossa returned the motion of farewell. "I hope you're happy…my…friend…" Hnossa told her.

And with that, Hnossa pushed Thrud back, whipped around, and activated the cloak's spell. Thrud was practically knocked down by the force of wind made when the cloak split into two large brown wings and unfurled themselves.

"Well, if I'm alone in this, at least I'm flying free!" she announced, and she rushed to the cliff, leapt off it…and promptly fell out of sight.

Startled, Thrud raced to the cliff's edge, only to be almost thrown down again as Hnossa shot up into the air from below, her new wings pumping furiously. And even though Hnossa had passed her quickly, Thrud was sure she's heard the girl laughing like a maniac.

Looking up, Thrud watched Hnossa pull a few loop-de-loops before hovering in one spot in the gray sky, waving at Thrud. Ignoring the sudden sensation of tears in her eyes, Thrud waved back and screamed for the last time "I hope you're happy!"

And then she watched Hnossa fly off to the west, until the girl was nothing more than a speck, and then, finally, was gone. Now the tears were flowing freely down Thrud's cheeks. Hoping she wouldn't run into anyone until they had stopped, Thrud turned and went back to the secret gate, hoping the warmth of Asgard wouldn't alienate her as it had her gem of a best friend.

(Yeah, that was kinda bad. Bargle. I hate writer's block so very, very much…

The next chapter here will be more serious than this, and hopefully will come out okay despite my current slump. It'll concern Loki and Siguna right after Loki's punishment, right after Vali and Narvi had been taken from them and Loki was bound. I hope it comes out well, for your sake and mine.

Please, please review despite the lameness of this and the last chapter. Also, in the highly likely event that I can't think of anything to write about after the next chappie here, the Luck of the Gods will be updated again with the inclusion of a new character, which is sorta my last resort for inspiration at this point because of all the OCs I have planned. Anyway, until next time.))


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